308 HANDY-BOOK OF HUSBANDRY. 



never hit upon, and but few farmers seem to know, what is abso- 

 lutely the fact, that wheat ceases to grow well, to produce largely, 

 and to withstand the vicissitudes of the weather and the attacks 

 of insects when, — and because, — those parts of the ashes of the 

 grain which are most essential to its perfection are no longer 

 supplied by the soil in sufficient quantities, and where, from inju- 

 dicious plowing and harrowing, (especially from plowing in wet 

 weather), the land has been brought to a condition unfavorable to 

 its growth. 



Wheat requires for its best growth a soil that is compact rather 

 than loose, and that has been made rich by previous cultivation 

 with manure, rather than by the application of heavy dressings of 

 fresh manure during the immediate preparation for the crop. 

 Peruvian guano, nitrate of soda, super-phosphate of lime, — any 

 manure in fact which is not subject to an active fermentation, — may, 

 with advantage, be harrowed in after plowing, or applied as a top 

 dressing after planting ; but, as a rule, it is better to apply the 

 manure to a previous crop, thus giving it time to become thoroughly 

 decomposed before the wheat is sown. 



The universal fertilizer for wheat, one which is nearly always 

 accessible, and always effective, is clover. If this is sown in the 

 spring, with barley or oats, allowed to grow without being closely 

 fed off in the fall, top-dressed with plaster the second spring, cut 

 once in June and again in August, it will have accumulated in 

 the soil an enormous quantity of long, deeply-reaching tap-roots, 

 which, — with the leaves that will have fallen during growth, — 

 constitute the best manure for the wheat crop ; for, in addition to 

 the fertilizing effect of the decaying roots, (rich with nutriment 

 drawn from the lower soil and from the atmosphere,) every fiber 

 that reaches down into the subsoil, opens the way for the more 

 delicate roots of the wheat to penetrate in search of food, and, by 

 its own decomposition, helps to prepare the soil by which it is 

 immediately surrounded for easy assimilation. 



The mechanical effect of the plowing down of a strong clover 

 sod, is very great. It warms the soil, and makes it easy for the 



